westwood

When the weekend comes around, it is the perfect time to explore Westwood and the greater Los Angeles area. And what better of a way to get to know the city than to get food? The best way to start your weekend off is with a great brunch, and there are numerous places in Los Angeles that offer a delicious selection. If you want to stay in Westwood or even branch out and take a drive down to Malibu, there are plenty of options for you.

Urth Caffe is a very trendy cafe that every person who visits or lives in California should go to. They serve a variety of things such as sandwiches, salads, pizza, boba, and mac& cheese. They also have a good bakery selection with items such as bread pudding, scones, croissants, and muffins. Their fresh fruit is also a great addition to any meal you order.

Malibu Farm

Photo by Myles Delamora

If you have enough time in your schedule to make your way down to Malibu, definitely stop at Malibu Farm. Not only is the food great, but it is on a pier where you can take in the stunning views of the California Coast, as well as take some Instagram-worthy photos.

Le Pain Quotidien (Locations in: Westwood, Brentwood, Santa Monica)

Photo by Kiah Andrews, UCLA

Whether you want to stay in Westwood or explore other areas of LA, Le Pain Quotidien is a great spot to hit. It has a variety of staple breakfast foods, along with items such as avocado toast and smoothie bowls.

The Butcher’s Daughter (Location: Venice)

Photo by Kiah Andrews, UCLA

The Buther’s Daughter is commonly known as “a vegetable slaughterhouse” and is a vegetarian restaurant. Whether you are a vegetarian or not, it has a menu that everyone would love. They have acai bowls, breakfast burritos, pizza, and smoothies, along with several other items.

Blu Jam Cafe has an array of mouth-watering food, as well as the option of all day breakfast. They have crunchy french toast, an egg benedict sandwich, and steak hash. The food will definitely have you eager to post a picture on your Snapchat and Instagram.

There are countless places to eat brunch at in Los Angeles, and these restaurants are just a few. So go out, get hungry, and grub!

Love boba? New to UCLA? Need new boba recommendations near campus? You’re just in luck. Read on to find out the best and hottest places to get a sip of sweet boba in Westwood.

1. CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice

Originally from Taiwan — the birthplace of boba — CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice serves a variety of drinks on their menu and you can mix and match your own toppings! CoCo offers beverages in all sizes and you can have your own choice of sweetness as well. On a side note, their boba packaging is unique in its shape that is longer and slimmer compared to the usual plastic cups, made for an easier grip so that you don’t drop your boba! Their boba milk tea known globally, as it grew from being a local beverage store to a franchise company. Apart from the amazing boba, the interior has bar areas, tables and couches for sitting, chatting and studying (though it can get a bit dark inside). Just from experience, CoCo serves their drinks the fastest out of all the others in Westwood. It is the closest boba shop outside of the UCLA campus (11201 W Olympic Blvd). They offer delivery on UberEats as well! You can also find CoCo in Sawtelle, Santa Monica, Koreatown, and near USC.

2. It’s Boba Time

It’s Boba Time by Ally Chou

Yes indeed it is! Boba Time is also one of the closer boba stores to campus. Replacing the original boba shop occupying the same area (Boba Loca), Boba Time is relatively new, reflected on their interior designs. Apart from traditional boba drinks, you can also get frappes, slushes, shakes and smoothies — their choices are super extensive. Food-wise, Boba Time offers shaved ice and trending acai bowls for the healthy ones. Find it at 10946 Weyburn Ave, across California Pizza Kitchen and the Regency Bruin theaters.

3. Sip Matcha

Sip Matcha is situated next to Japanese restaurant Tomodachi Sushi and across Brandy Melville (10967 Weyburn Ave). It is the most aesthetic and Instagram worthy boba shop in Westwood, with an earthy interior design that corresponds to their special core ingredient — you guessed it — matcha! They offer different renditions on matcha drinks from their blueberry matcha, to “Magic Matcha” which is a beautiful color-blocked drink that tastes good and looks amazing. Asides from drinks, they also offer Onimatchas, which are matcha flavored rice balls in spam, salmon and menetaiko. This is a perfect place for a quick bite and for a refreshing beverage. The only thing missing from this store are places to sit while waiting. The shop doesn’t really seem to be intended for guests to linger around. As of now, Sip Matcha is only offered in Westwood and Rowland Heights, so take the advantage of being a Bruin!

4. Koala T Café

Koala T Cafe by Ally Chou

Next is Koala T Café — right next to Sip! It is mostly known for their Chinese food, but they have an extensive choice of boba as well! What’s special about Koala T’s boba is that you can customize your entire drink, from what base you want (tea, juice, smoothie…etc), to what topping (boba, aloe, grass jelly…etc), to the sweetness, amount of ice, and size. You can literally create a drink that is special to your mood and your taste buds! Of course, they offer boba flavors from a menu as well, for the days when you have a boba-flavor-creating block. My personal favorite would have to be the sea salt green tea boba! Don’t let the name scare you — it’s not that sweet, and gives your drink more texture by balancing out the taste of the green tea. Instead of a café though, the atmosphere is more like that of a restaurant, but it is not too noisy if you are looking to study there! Koala T also is also available on UberEats — another one that’s perfect for those lazy days!

5. Lollicup Fresh

Lollicup Fresh by Ally Chou

You might have seen this familiar brightly lit sign in Ackerman before. They have one in Westwood too! Though it is a bit of a walk from campus (1131 Westwood Blvd) Lollicup is worth a try. Again, from personal experience, their boba tends to be softer than those of other stores — which is a hit or miss depending on what your preferences are. The flavor of their teas are also stronger than the others, but that can be altered by the amount of sugar you want to add into your drink (which you can specify). Like Koala T, you can customize what you want here. They also serve some Taiwanese dishes that aren’t seen elsewhere, like authentic popcorn chicken!

As any student on campus would notice, the air quality throughout L.A. has dropped significantly. The hazy skies and falling ash would also help one conclude that something is amiss. This disturbance is due to the multitude of fires that have been raging throughout California. It seems as though the massive wildfires that have ravaged the state are becoming a common annual occurrence. For anyone who has lived in California for the past five years, this is probably not their first time experiencing the effects of a forest fire.

There are fires raging on all throughout California. In the North, the Camp Fire has destroyed the entire town of Paradise, leaving 23 dead. At least 6,700 structures have been burnt down in this fire alone. Currently the largest, the Camp Fire is around 110,000 acres large. As of now it is 25% contained, however, upcoming winds are anticipated to widen the fire’s domain.

Meanwhile, close to UCLA, the Woolsey and Hill Fire have yet to be contained at all in Malibu and other areas of Southern California. Strong winds and dry conditions fueled this fire’s explosion in size last weekend. The Woolsey and Camp Fires are currently around 80,000 and 109,000 acres respectively. These fires are the cause of the poor air quality in UCLA and throughout L.A. county.

One of UCLA’s neighbors Pepperdine University was nearly caught in the Woolsey Fire’s path. Only through the coordinated efforts of several L.A. county fire departments were the 3,600 students sheltering on campus saved.

The destruction caused by the California fires has been devastating. The amount of life and property loss is a severe detriment to California and the United States itself. The state is in desperate need of government aid. Despite this, the President Trump has threatened to rescind the aid, blaming poor forest management by the state as the cause of the fires.

This years string of fires have been some of the most destructive in California’s long history of fall blazes. It is not difficult to state that more should be done to prepare for the inevitable fires that seem to return to California every fall. That being said, if an army invaded California, destroyed thousands of structures and killed dozens of people, would federal action not be expected?

Ever wanted to participate in the art scene but never knew where or how to start? Bruins are lucky enough to have a university affiliated institution just at the edge of Westwood Village — the Hammer Museum (10899 Wilshire Blvd). Whether or not art is your forte, everyone can enjoy their time at the Hammer, but before I get into its details, let me provide a background gist of what art in Los Angeles is like.

LA is best known for its mural and contemporary art that began to flourish since the 1960s. Compared to New York or Washington DC — the relatively more distinguished art hubs of the United States — the LA art scene is pretty new. As of now, however, LA is one of the biggest markets for buying contemporary art in the States, housing many of the most prestigious museums such as LACMA, The Broad, and our very own Hammer Museum!

Upon entering the Hammer, don’t be intimidated by the clean architectural interior! You will be greeted by a docent who will guide you to the lobby where you get a bold pink Hammer Museum sticker (don’t worry, the ticketing is always free!). Most of the exhibitions as of now, are all on the third floor where the galleries are situated.

In terms of time, the Hammer is definitely a museum you can finish going through within an hour or two, depending on your interest in the artworks displayed. It has a good combination of both historical and provoking contemporary art, though I would say the Hammer is a better representative of the latter. This is simply because LA is more in touch with the contemporary art world than it is with the ancient/historical (if you are more interested in those, perhaps the Getty Center and the Getty Villa would be museums more suited for you).

Currently, the Hammer is exhibiting works of contemporary artist Adrian Piper: “Adrian Piper: Concepts and Institutions, 1965-2016”. It features more than 270 works across 50 years, and the audience can see a wide variety of her multimedia artwork. Under the calming ambience of the Hammer, you can get to know one of the most renowned contemporary artists, who has influenced the art scene since the 60s. She addresses social, political and spiritual issues on gender, race and xenophobia through a humorous perspective — definitely an enlightening way to begin your path into the field of art. The exhibition is on display until January 6, 2019, so there is still a lot of time to visit!

Asides from just being a museum institution, the Hammer is also a multipurpose area that would be perfect for a date, studying or even just to grab a quick bite amongst an artistic environment. The outdoor atrium (where the spinning chairs are), is normally pretty empty and spacious, a great place to move your studying away from Powell Library and into an aesthetic environment with great lighting. There is also a café open in case you get hungry!